Service Monday for Friends Killed in Train Collision

Eren Askew and Anthony Young died Sunday in crash.

Eren Askew, left, and Anthony Young, right, were close friends for about a decade and had attended Mulberry High School together

By KYLE KENNEDYTHE LEDGER

Published: Thursday, February 28, 2013 at 12:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, March 1, 2013 at 3:51 a.m.

MULBERRY | Eren Randall Askew enjoyed the outdoors and was a loyal family member and friend. Anthony Martin Young loved skateboarding and listening to old country records.

The two friends, who died when their car collided with a train Sunday night, will be honored in a memorial service at 1 p.m. Monday at Willow Oak Baptist Church in Mulberry.

Askew, 25, and Young, 24, were close friends for about a decade and had attended Mulberry High School together, family members said.

Askew's mother, Denise Askew-Roznowski, said her son liked to hunt and fish. He was active in football and ROTC while in high school and had worked as a diesel engine mechanic in North Carolina before returning to Mulberry recently.

Askew was close with his family and protective of his younger sister, Faythe, Askew-Roznowski said. Askew was just 5 years old, and his sis­ter was 4, when they lost their father, Randy, in a car accident.

"When (Eren) loved, he gave everything he had. He was a very caring person," Askew-Roznowski said. "He always had a smile on his face. I think there's only two pictures I took where he didn't have a smile on his face."

"(Young) and Eren were a lot alike," Askew-Roznowski said. "They were caring, sweet, make-you-laugh kind of people. They would do anything for anybody."

Askew has a son, Lucas, and a daughter, Emberlie.

Young lived at home with family in Mulberry and worked for an auto detailing company, said his mother, Connie McGhee. He was in the process of starting his own detailing business.

McGhee described her son as an avid skateboarder who also enjoyed fishing and computers. He received a record player for Christmas a few years ago and was fond of playing Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and Waylon Jennings, McGhee said.

"He liked that old country music. ... We would have to tell him to turn it down," McGhee said. Young had five sisters and was McGhee's only son.

"He was a sweet boy, I tell you," she said. "Every since he was little, when he left to go somewhere, he would kiss me on the cheek and tell me he loved me."

According to police and medical reports, Young was driving a sport utility vehicle with Askew on Sunday night when they were struck by a CSX train at a Lakeland rail crossing.

The crash occurred about 11:40 p.m. Sunday at a crossing on Ewell Road immediately west of State Road 37, Florida Highway Patrol troopers said.

The approaching train sounded its horn, but the vehicle attempted to cross the railroad tracks and traveled into the train's path, according to FHP.

The lives of the two men will be celebrated in a joint memorial service 1 p.m. Monday at Willow Oak Baptist Church, 3390 Willow Oak Road. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Seigler Funeral Home in Mulberry.

[ Kyle Kennedy can be reached at kyle.kennedy@theledger.com or 863-802-7584. ]

<p>MULBERRY | Eren Randall Askew enjoyed the outdoors and was a loyal family member and friend. Anthony Martin Young loved skateboarding and listening to old country records.</p><p>The two friends, who died when their car collided with a train Sunday night, will be honored in a memorial service at 1 p.m. Monday at Willow Oak Baptist Church in Mulberry.</p><p>Askew, 25, and Young, 24, were close friends for about a decade and had attended Mulberry High School together, family members said. </p><p>Askew's mother, Denise Askew-Roznowski, said her son liked to hunt and fish. He was active in football and ROTC while in high school and had worked as a diesel engine mechanic in North Carolina before returning to Mulberry recently.</p><p>Askew was close with his family and protective of his younger sister, Faythe, Askew-Roznowski said. Askew was just 5 years old, and his sis­ter was 4, when they lost their father, Randy, in a car accident. </p><p>"When (Eren) loved, he gave everything he had. He was a very caring person," Askew-Roznowski said. "He always had a smile on his face. I think there's only two pictures I took where he didn't have a smile on his face."</p><p>"(Young) and Eren were a lot alike," Askew-Roznowski said. "They were caring, sweet, make-you-laugh kind of people. They would do anything for anybody."</p><p>Askew has a son, Lucas, and a daughter, Emberlie.</p><p>Young lived at home with family in Mulberry and worked for an auto detailing company, said his mother, Connie McGhee. He was in the process of starting his own detailing business. </p><p>McGhee described her son as an avid skateboarder who also enjoyed fishing and computers. He received a record player for Christmas a few years ago and was fond of playing Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and Waylon Jennings, McGhee said.</p><p>"He liked that old country music. ... We would have to tell him to turn it down," McGhee said. Young had five sisters and was McGhee's only son.</p><p>"He was a sweet boy, I tell you," she said. "Every since he was little, when he left to go somewhere, he would kiss me on the cheek and tell me he loved me."</p><p>According to police and medical reports, Young was driving a sport utility vehicle with Askew on Sunday night when they were struck by a CSX train at a Lakeland rail crossing.</p><p>The crash occurred about 11:40 p.m. Sunday at a crossing on Ewell Road immediately west of State Road 37, Florida Highway Patrol troopers said.</p><p>The approaching train sounded its horn, but the vehicle attempted to cross the railroad tracks and traveled into the train's path, according to FHP.</p><p>The lives of the two men will be celebrated in a joint memorial service 1 p.m. Monday at Willow Oak Baptist Church, 3390 Willow Oak Road. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Seigler Funeral Home in Mulberry.</p><p>[ Kyle Kennedy can be reached at kyle.kennedy@theledger.com or 863-802-7584. ]</p>